Tire inflation device

ABSTRACT

An auto air kick pump for inflating tires, comprises:  
     a non-return valve ( 1 ) attachable to the spark plug hole of the engine cylinder of a vehicle, in which the spark plug is screwed in;  
     a first nipple ( 2 ) attached at one end to the non-return valve and connected at the other end to a pressure gauge ( 4 ) by means of a first tube ( 3 A);  
     a second tube ( 3 B) connecting the pressure gauge to a second nipple ( 5 ), said second nipple being securable to the inlet valve of a tire to be inflated.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] 1. Field of Invention

[0002] This invention relates to an auto air kick pump for inflating tires.

[0003] 2. Background

[0004] The vehicle population in India is 40 million today. Two wheelers account for nearly 70% of the total vehicles. It is the major mode of transportation in India, particularly in rural India. But the road network has not been able to cope with the increasing traffic. National Highways and state highways account for only 6% of total roads: less than 50% of villages have road connectivity and about 50% roads are still unsurfaced. Given this scenario, flat tires is a common problem and often leads to crisis as repair shops are few and far between on the highways and village routes. This problem is more pronounced in the case of two-wheelers and three-wheelers.

[0005] Presently there is one comparable product called Foot-Pump available in the market. This product is different in some aspects. It is operated externally i.e., it does not use the compressed air of the vehicle itself. Existing foot pumps available in the market to pump air in vehicles work on simple principle of compression.

[0006] In the said product, a piston and a cylinder are provided. The piston rod is fixed on one end and thus, its movement is restricted, while cylinder is kept movable. The piston is made up of rubber washer, which is flexible and allows passage of air in one direction.

[0007] One end of the piston rod is fixed with the bottom frame of the pump, while the other end is fixed with the piston, which is inside the cylinder. Small clearance is provided between the piston rod and the cylinder from where the piston rod enters into the cylinder. This clearance acts as inlet passage for air.

[0008] When the pump is in free position, air fills space on both sides of the piston in the cylinder. As the pedal is pressed with a foot of the operator, the cylinder moves downward, resulting in relative upward motion of the piston, which is fixed. As space between top dead center and the piston is reduced, air trapped in this space gets compressed and moves through an outlet pipe, whose other end is attached to the tire of the vehicle.

[0009] As pressure on the pedal is removed, the cylinder attains its original position and in turn, creates a vacuum in the space between the piston and bottom dead center. Atmospheric air is sucked into this space due to creation of a vacuum and air also reaches other parts of the piston through passage provided by rubber washer as the rubber washer acts as a one-way valve due to its conical design.

[0010] Thus, one cycle is completed wherein the first stroke is a compression stroke while the second stroke is a suction stroke. By such operation, the tire is filled with compressed air.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] A foot pump is heavier (more than 1 Kg) than the kick operation air-pump of the present invention (which weighs only 500 grams). It costs more than double the price (retain price in the range of Rs.250-300) of said air pump.

[0012] To solve the problem outlined above, the present invention provides an auto air kick pump for inflating tires, said pump comprising:

[0013] a non-return valve attached to the spark plug hole of the engine cylinder of a vehicle, in which the spark plug is screwed in;

[0014] a first nipple attached at one end to the non-return valve and connected at the other end to a pressure gauge by means of a first tube;

[0015] a second tube connecting the pressure gauge to a second nipple, said second nipple being securable to the inlet valve of a tire to be inflated.

[0016] This is a simple system and is especially useful for inflating the tires of a two wheeler or a three wheeler having a kick-start mechanism. By the operation of the kick starter of the vehicle, compressed air from the engine cylinder of the vehicle is passed through the pump to the tire to be inflated.

[0017] The non-return valve and first nipple are preferably made of a hard material such as cast iron and mild steel. The tubes may be made of a flexible material such as PVC and rubber. The second nipple may be made of a material such as rigid PVC, aluminum, cast iron and mild steel.

[0018] In one embodiment of the invention the end of the non-return valve which is attachable to the spark plug hole of the engine cylinder is provided with screw threads for securing the non-return valve in the spark plug hole of the engine cylinder.

[0019] The first nipple may be provided with screw threads on the internal surface at one end of the first nipple, said non-return valve having screw threads on the outer surface of the other end of the non-return valve, said screw threads on the non-return valve and screw threads in the first nipple securing the first nipple to the non-return valve.

[0020] Although the foot pump of known art can be used in all types of vehicles, it costs more than double the price of the pump of the present invention.

[0021] The pump of the present invention has the following advantages, namely, small size; light weight; easy portability; do-it-yourself device; it is very inexpensive; light in weight; and compact in size; easy to use; flexible and self-repairable; and best alternative to spare wheel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The invention will now be described with reference to preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0023] In the accompanying drawings,

[0024]FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of an auto air kick pump according to the present invention;

[0025]FIG. 2 shows front view of the non-return valve of the pump of FIG. 1;

[0026]FIGS. 3 and 4 show front view and plan view of the nipple of FIG. 1;

[0027]FIGS. 5 and 6 shows front and plan view of the pressure gauge used in the pump of FIG. 1;

[0028]FIG. 7 shows a second PVC nipple of the pump of FIG. 1 in the locked position;

[0029]FIG. 8 shows the second nipple of FIG. 7 in the unlocked position;

[0030]FIGS. 9 and 10 show the front view and side view of a second nipple made of iron.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The auto air kick pump of the present invention is attachable to the engine cylinder of the vehicle where the spark plug is screwed in. Referring to FIG. 1, non-return valve 1 has one end attachable in the spark plug hole of the engine cylinder. A first nipple 2 has one end attached to the other end of the non-return valve 2. A first poly tube 2A has one end connected to the other end of the first nipple 2. One end of a pressure gauge 4 is connected to the other end of the first polytube 3A. A second poly tube 3B is connected at one end to the other end of the pressure gauge, and is connected at its other end to a second nipple 5. The second nipple 5 is connectable to the air inlet valve of a tire for inflating the tire. In the case of a two-wheeler or three-wheeler, the cylinder of the engine of the vehicle functions as a compressor.

[0032] The non-return valve 1 is shown in greater detail in FIG. 2. It is a standard non-return valve used for industrial application. It is made of hard material such as cast iron and mild steel. Screw threads are provided at its ends 1A and 1B. The pitch of the threads at the first end 1A of the non-return valve is equivalent to that of the hole of the engine cylinder where a spark plug is attached.

[0033] The first nipple 2 (FIGS. 3 and 4) is a standard component of industrial application, and is made of a hard material such as cast iron or mild steel. It is provided with screw threads on its inner surface at its one end 2A as can be seen in FIG. 3. This threaded end is screwed onto the threads at the other end 1B (FIG. 2) of the non-return valve. A first poly tube 3A (FIG. 1) has one end attached to the other end 2B of the first nipple. A pressure gauge 4 (FIGS. 5 and 6) has one end 4A attached to the other end of the poly tube 3A.

[0034] A second poly tube 3B has one end attached to the other end 4B of the pressure gauge 4. A second nipple 5 is attached to the other end of the poly tube 3B. This nipple 5 is shown in FIGS. 7 to 10. The other end of the poly tube 3B is attached to a first end 5A of the second nipple. The second end 5B of the second nipple has screw threads for securing it to the inlet valve of the tire to be inflated. The second nipple may be made of a material such as iron, steel, aluminum or PVC, which can withstand air pressure and has flexibility for engaging and disengaging with the inlet valve of the tire to be inflated.

[0035]FIGS. 7 and 8 show a second nipple made of rigid PVC material, while FIGS. 9 and 10 show a second nipple made of a hard material such as aluminum, cast iron and steel. In FIG. 7, the second nipple is shown in the unlocked position. In FIGS. 9 and 10, the nipple is provided with internal screw threads at second end 5B so that the screw threads act as a locking and unlocking mechanism when attached to the inlet valve of the tire to be inflated.

[0036] Now the operation of the system will be explained. The spark plug is detached from the spark plug hole of the engine cylinder of the vehicle and the petrol remaining inside is removed by kicking the kick starter of the vehicle twice or thrice. Thereafter, the first end 1 A of the non-return valve 1 is screwed in the spark plug hole from which the spark plug has been detached. The second end 5B of the second nipple 5 is attached to the inlet valve of the tire tube which is to be inflated.

[0037] In two wheelers and three-wheelers, compression is generated in the engine itself. When the kick starter is given a few strokes, the piston moves in the engine cylinder. As the piston moves from top dead center to bottom dead center and vice versa, air entrapped on either side of the piston gets compressed and moves to the outlet due to high pressure. This high-pressure air moves through the spark plug hole of the engine cylinder of the vehicle, in which the spark plug is screwed in, and pipe of the air kick pump, and reaches into the tire to fill the tire with air.

[0038] Here, air is compressed within the engine itself and there is no separate compressor for the purpose.

[0039] In the pump of the present invention, the kick starter is given a few strokes, until the pressure gauge 4 indicates the desired air pressure in the tire being inflated. After the desired pressure is attained, the second nipple 5 is detached from the air inlet valve of the tire, and the non-return valve is unscrewed from the spark plug hole of the engine cylinder. Then, the spark-plug is screwed into the spark plug hole of the cylinder.

[0040] Although the invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, the invention extends to all modifications of the invention coming within the scope of the invention as claimed. 

We claim
 1. An auto air kick pump for inflating tires, said pump comprising: a non-return valve attachable to the spark plug hole of the engine cylinder of a vehicle, in which the spark plug is screwed in; a first nipple attached at one end to the non-return valve and connected at the other end to a pressure gauge by means of a first tube; a second tube connecting the pressure gauge to a second nipple, said second nipple being securable to the inlet valve of a tire to be inflated.
 2. Pump as claimed in claim 1, wherein said non-return valve and first nipple are made of a hard material such as cast iron and mild steel.
 3. Pump as claimed in claim 1 or 3, wherein said tubes are made of a hard material such as PVC and rubber.
 4. Pump as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, wherein said second nipple is made of a material such as rigid PVC, aluminum, cast iron and mild steel.
 5. Pump as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the end of the non-return valve attachable to the spark plug hole of the engine cylinder is provided with screw threads for securing the non-return valve in said spark plug hole.
 6. Pump as claimed in claim 5, wherein said first nipple is provided with screw threads on the internal surface at one end of the first nipple, said non-return valve having screw threads on the outer surface of the other end of the non-return valve and screw threads in the first nipple securing the first nipple to the non-return valve.
 7. Auto air kick pump for inflating tires, substantially as herein described, particularly with reference to the accompanying drawings. 